Al Fresco Milan

A meeting place with food and dining

Ivan from Milan

About me I was born and raised in Bulgaria, in a small countryside town in the south. The place somehow always felt too small. For the first 20 years of my life I never really left the country and this was eating me up from the inside. My thrive for discovering the world was simply too strong, so in 2004 I decided to catch up and jump to the other extreme. I have been moving pla...
""Al Fresco" is my Milan cafe/restaurant I'd never visited because it was just next door to my place! Let me tell you, that was a mistake, if only for..."

I'm sure you have this neighborhood joint that you passed by several times and every time you said to yourself that you've got to check it out but you always left it "on the back burner" (just because it is right next door). Well, Al Fresco is exactly this kind of place for me and that's why it took me a long time before I actually made it there. The place turned out to be a real gem!

Indoors it's very light with big windows, split into several interconnected spaces and somehow super cosy. There is the open kitchen where the Japanese chef (Kokichi Takahashi) spins seriously delicious Italian specialties (everything tastes so great that I'm afraid I'll be visiting way too often!). The menu changes frequently (different choices for lunch vs. dinner and weekday vs. weekend) and all products are local ('0 km' concept is taken very seriously here). Service is friendly and efficient, adding to the relaxed feel of the restaurant.

Now, I left the best for the end - in summer the place has an amazing garden, beautifully arranged for those long hot summer evenings, when chilling outside with great food and a couple of drinks & friends is pretty much enough to be happy :).

Tip - if you don't feel like taking advantage of the vast wine list, try the tasty artisan beer from a small local brewery and buy several bottles for home on your way out, at a discounted price.

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Milan Spotter Ivan

About me I was born and raised in Bulgaria, in a small countryside town in the south. The place somehow always felt too small. For the first 20 years of my life I never really left the country and this was eating me up from the inside. My thrive for discovering the world was simply too strong, so in 2004 I decided to catch up and jump to the other extreme. I have been moving places ever since. Since 2004, I’ve lived and studied / worked in The Hague & Amsterdam, Sofia, Beijing, Berlin, Prague, Paris, Nice and Monaco. And now Milan. I consider myself lucky to have chosen ...

About this spot

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Oct 4, 2025

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